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Agence France-Presse

A man with a firearm who held several people hostage at Apple’s flagship store in central Amsterdam was overpowered late Tuesday after a siege lasting several hours, police said, adding that the last of the hostages had been freed.
Police had deployed several special units to “get the situation under control” after being alerted of an armed robbery at 5.40pm which had rapidly transformed into a hostage situation.
Police said the gunman was “lying on the street and a robot was examining him for explosives” in front of the store in Leidseplein in the heart of the Dutch city.
“We managed to stop the hostage-taker by hitting him with a car the moment he ran outside”, a tweet said later.
“We now know that the suspect had no explosives on his body and medical staff are now taking care of him.”
The last hostage held in the store was safe, they added.

“Since the start of the hostage taking … several people have managed to leave the store,” they said earlier.
Leidseplein is popular with tourists and known for its lively bars and cafes. The area was quickly closed and the restaurants, bars and theatres were shut after the hostage taking.
The police were monitoring images circulating on social media which would eventually be used in an investigation, they added.
How viral Wordle game saved US woman, 80, who was held hostage for 21 hours
Dutch public television NOS said the hostage taker was injured and was driven away in an ambulance.
Tim Wagemakers, an independent journalist who was in a nearby building, tweeted there were heavily armed police at the site, adding that locals had been asked to remain inside and stay away from their windows.

The building he was in was evacuated during the hostage-taking.
Images on social media showed an assailant holding a man at gunpoint, local media reported. Several witnesses heard gunshots inside the Apple Store, according to the AT5 outlet.
A spokesman for Apple in the Netherlands did not respond to requests seeking comment.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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The Netherlands

Gunman overpowered after hostage drama at Amsterdam Apple store

The hostage-taker (left) puts his arm over the shoulder of the hostage in the Apple store in Amsterdam. Photo: EPA

The suspect on the ground outside the Apple store, next to a police robot. Photo: EPA

The hostage-taker standing with a hostage at a door of the Apple store. Photo: EPA

How viral Wordle game saved US woman, 80, who was held hostage for 21 hours

Denyse Holt’s daughter became worried that her mother was not reading her texts or updating her about Wordle. Photo: TNS

Japan man arrested after doctor shot dead in hostage crisis

Japanese police officers investigate the area around a house where a man took hostages in Fujimino, Saitama prefecture on Friday. Photo: Kyodo

People return from the evacuation site after a man was arrested following a stand-off at a home in Fujimino. Photo: JIJI PRESS/AFP

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A police vehicle near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. Photo: TNS

Police escorting a hostage out of the synagogue on Saturday. Photo: AP 

The Congregation Beth Israel synagogue where the UK man took hostages. Photo: AP

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News

World

Europe


An hours-long hostage stand-off at flagship Apple store in Amsterdam ends
Police drive car into the hostage-taker suspect as he runs from the store



An hours-long hostage stand-off at the Apple Store in Amsterdam ended with police in a car driving into the hostage-taker as he ran from the store.


Apple

Crime

Gunman overpowered after hostage drama at Amsterdam Apple store

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} An hours-long hostage stand-off at flagship Apple store in Amsterdam ends Police drive car into the hostage-taker suspect as he runs from the store

An hours-long hostage stand-off at flagship Apple store in Amsterdam ends

Police drive car into the hostage-taker suspect as he runs from the store